The council's unanimous vote came after several council members took turns praising Johnson, a Dallas Democrat and the first woman and first black representative from Dallas.

"She was a pioneer," Mayor Mike Rawlings said. "She is a heroine of Dallas like few have ever been."

Johnson, 80, wasn't present at City Hall for the vote.

"She was a pioneer," Mayor Mike Rawlings said of U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson. "She is a heroine of Dallas like few have ever been."

(2014 File Photo/Nathan Hunsinger)

Southern Dallas council members Erik Wilson and Casey Thomas proposed the renaming. Wilson has said former Mayor Ron Kirk, for whom the city renamed the Continental Avenue Bridge this year, suggested the idea.

Wilson said Tuesday that Johnson has been "a pillar" for Dallas and excelled in Congress when it was time to "bring home the bacon." Johnson's advocacy for transportation and Dallas Area Rapid Transit made the renaming especially fitting, he said.